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Shirosaki hummed a random little tune to himself as he waited for the elevator to stop. He had just arrived at his main work, and on time, which seemed to shock most people; More than once, a person walking by would run straight into a wall because they were too busy staring at him in disbelief.
Shiro pulled at his tie absently when the elevator stopped, but not on his floor.
As the doors opened, he grinned when he recognized the man standing there.
"Well, well, well~ If it aint Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, back from his trip ta hell, I presume."
Blue eyes snapped towards him and glared. Shiro's smirk only grew as he gave him a once over.
The man really did look like he went through hell: hair disheveled, a large bruise painting his jaw, clothes un-tucked and in disarray, and the man's eyes were completely bloodshot.
"So~ How'd it go?" Shiro taunted, making Grimmjow punch his shoulder roughly before answering.
"I really fucked up."
Shiro raised a brow and drawled, "I'm not surprised…"
Amazingly, Grimmjow had no smartass comeback to that. "Yeah…" He said instead, looking rather distracted.
"What happened?" Shirosaki interrogated, becoming curious due to his friend's odd behavior.
Grimmjow sighed again, his shoulders sagging.
"That Byakuya bastard refused ta sign."
Shiro blinked in shock. "Seriously? But Aizen seemed so sure abo—"
Grimmjow quickly cut him off with another sharp glare.
"I tried everythin' I could. The guy had me doin' fuckin' chores for him, and I even slept with the guy, but nothin' worked." Grimmjow growled at his own stupidity.
"Slept with him? I thought you had a boyfriend though. What was his name? Luekee?" Shiro pointed out, somewhat disappointed in his friend.
"Luppi? Nah I ditched that lil' brat like a year ago. And 'sides… Aizen, the bastard, told me I had ta fuck the guy as a last resort."
"Okay… then why do ya look so guilty?"
Grimmjow looked up at Shiro in surprise, but then covered it up with a scowl.
"Probably 'cause I destroyed my livin' room last night." He grumpily admitted, though he made sure not to mention Ichigo. His friend would probably lecture him about cheating and all that bullshit. Shirosaki may be a sadistic bastard at times, but he had a weird thing with loyalty.
And besides, Ichigo had told him about a million times that their relationship was to stay a secret. Grimmjow never really understood why, but he agreed to keep his mouth shut. He may be a little hard on Ichigo at times, but he really did love the orange-haired brat. Maybe he didn't show it all that often, especially lately—he's been so stressed out… But… He felt so guilty about last night…
"You were drunk?" Shirosaki snapped him out of his thoughts with a question that sounded more like an accusation.
"More like completely shit-faced." Grimmjow huffed when Shiro shook his head at him, making him feel even guiltier than he already did. "Whatever. Doesn't matter… So, anythin' new happen with ya while I was away?" He said, affectively changing the topic, but unknowingly keeping it rooted to the same orange-haired man.
"Yes, actually." Shirosaki bounced on his feet in slight excitement. Grimmjow rolled his eyes at the albino. "You remember my new roommate, Renji?" He asked just as the elevator doors finally opened on their floor. Grimmjow nodded while walking out, Shiro following close behind.
"Yeah. How can I forget? Tha' guy makes the best damn fajitas."
They stopped walking when they were finally inside Grimmjow's office.
"Well I met his brother today, an' apparently he'll be stayin' with us for a while."
Grimmjow nodded and sat down in his chair right behind the desk. "Renji has a brother? Ha! Well, his brother must be pretty cute if you're this excited about him." Grimmjow dug through his drawers as he said that, completely missing Shiro's shit-eating grin.
"Well, think a' the cutest person you've ever met." Grimmjow immediately thought of his sweet berry at home. "Now times it by ten." Grimmjow had to laugh at that.
"There's no way." He snorted, "If you could see the guy I'm thinkin' of, then you'd change yer mind." Grimmjow sighed, making Shiro growl.
"Bullshit. Even his name is cute!"
The bluenette lay back in his chair and looked towards the albino expectantly, but before Shirosaki could say the name, the door opened. Both men stiffened when they recognized their boss. "Aizen…" Grimmjow gulped when he received a cold stare.
"Mr. Jeagerjaques, I'd like to have a word with you."
Shiro smirked as he watched their boss disappear, leaving Grimmjow to stew in his conflicting emotions.
"Oooo~ you're SO getting fired." Shiro teased, while leaning forward on the desk so his face was mere inches from the angry man's. Grimmjow went to throw a punch at him, but Shiro had been expecting it.
Grimmjow scowled darkly as he watched Shirosaki skip out of his office, cackling all the while.
"Weirdo…" He grumbled after the albino. He was about to get up and follow after his boss, but he jumped when Shirosaki's face reappeared at the door.
"Hey Grimmjow…"
"Yeah?"
"Good luck man…"
And then he actually left this time. Grimmjow raised a brow curiously. The albino never really said stuff like that—they were very rare and often foreshadowed that bad things were going to happen…
~~Time-Skip: After Work~~
Shirosaki hummed to himself as he unlocked his door, the key barely making a noise when he slipped it out.
"I'm home~" He called out before shutting the door behind him.
He received no answer.
Shiro gazed around the living room and peeked into the kitchen, but there was no one. He shrugged and started towards his room. Renji was usually out with friends around this time anyway.
The door squeaked slightly when he opened it. He glanced towards his bed, where a large lump lay beneath his gigantic, king-sized comforter, which was much too big for his single bed. But that's how he liked to sleep—bundled up in a soft blanket, where it was nice and cozy. Shirosaki smirked as he peered over the mound, seeing a mess of orange hair. He gently lifted up the blanket to see the man's face.
Ichigo was sound asleep.
He chuckled when the dandelion made some strange, grunting noise and buried his face into the pillow.
"Make yourself at home." Shiro smiled. He carefully placed the blanket back over Ichigo's face and went towards his closet.
He quickly put on a pair of loose-fitting pajama pants and then he chucked his tie, shirt, and matching jacket at the other side of the room. He grabbed his cell phone from his suit's pant pocket that was lying on the floor and swiftly walked out of the dark room. He could still hear Ichigo's faint snoring as he made his way to the kitchen. He chuckled.
"Dude, put on a shirt."
Shirosaki nearly dropped his phone at the sound of Renji's voice. He lifted a brow and then gazed down at his pale chest before looking back up at his roommate, who was leaning back against the fridge, cup of steaming coffee in hand.
"Why? It 'aint like I'm all hairy an' fat." Shiro said with a smirk as he pointed towards his abs before sliding his fingers over his hairless pectorals. Renji rolled his eyes and took a sip of his coffee before replying.
"Well, neither am I, but ya don't see me walkin' around naked."
"I 'aint naked! And 'sides, I like showin' off your artwork." Shirosaki smirked as he turned around to reveal the black dragon that slithered its way up his back, curving around his spine, tail wrapping around his side to his torso, and revealing long fangs.
"Whatever. Just getta shirt on 'fore Ichi wakes up."
"Oh… I see now."
"What?"
Shirosaki smiled coyly and sauntered over to the redhead. Renji lifted his lip in a snarl when Shiro's pale face got right up into his own.
"You just don't wan' your precious lil' brother ogling my hot body."
Renji growled and shoved Shirosaki away, making the man cackle.
"Shuddup, Shiro."
"Make me."
"You lil'—" Renji was cut off when Shiro's cell phone went off. Shirosaki gazed down to see who was interrupting his fun-time, but then he smirked when he immediately recognized the number.
"Sup, blue?" He cooed as soon as he snapped open the phone.
-Hey…-
"What's up?" Shiro asked, not liking his friend's depressed tone.
-Do you think I could hang wit' ya taday?-
"Sure. You okay?"
-Eh… The boss jus' chewed me out again. An' I'm home right now… but it's so depressin' here…-
"Alright…" Shirosaki hummed, not quite used to a depressed Grimmjow. "Get yer ass ova here then. I got tha' Call of Duty game that I know you like."
-Damn right you did!-
Shiro smirked and then hung up, not even saying goodbye, but Grimmjow should be used to it by now. He turned and gave Renji a playful glare, making the redhead roll his eyes again.
"Grimm's comin' over?" He asked while placing his now empty cup in the sink.
"Yep! He's all down, so we gotta cheer him up."
Renji's eyes widened and then his face scrunched up into a look of disbelief and mild shock.
"Grimmjow? Depressed?"
"Yeah… A lota shit's been goin' on at work. The boss is always down his throat, an' he's havin' some personal issues."
Renji joined Shirosaki as the man made his way towards the couch. They both collapsed onto the comfortable leather cushions with a sigh. "Gotcha… I guess even tough guys like Grimm get problems they can't handle alone…"
Shirosaki nodded absently, his mind drifting and his vacant gaze glued towards the TV's blank screen. Renji looked at his unusually silent roommate strangely, but didn't speak. He didn't want to break the train of thoughts that were weaving through the albino's mysterious head. So, instead, he got up and started making his way to his kitchen.
Yes, his kitchen. Shirosaki may live here now, but Renji refused to share his kitchen, unless the jerk was just getting a soda from the fridge or something. Not that they've ever had to fight over ownership, because Shiro wasn't much of a chef and he really liked the redheads cooking. Normally Ichigo would be the one fighting him for the kitchen, since the orange-head also liked to cook, and was actually pretty good at it. There were a few rare times when Renji had cravings for Ichi's cooking, not that he'd ever admit it though.
Renji absently fingered the knobs on the oven as he stood in the kitchen. He pondered over what he should probably make for dinner. Since Ichigo was here, and Grimmjow was coming over, it should be something pretty filling—especially after the way he saw Grimm scarf down those fajitas his last visit.
~~A Couple Hours Later~~
"Shit!"
"Fuck!"
"Cocksucker!"
"Move, dammit!"
"No! Go to the left!"
"Screw that! Cover me!"
Grimmjow snarled and moved his thumbs across the controller almost as fast as Shirosaki, who was mashing the buttons with bruising force; Renji watched the whole scene with an amused smirk. It was more entertaining watching those two than watching the TV.
"Why'd you stop it!?" Shirosaki screeched and he almost threw his controller at the television when the word 'paused' suddenly popped up on the screen in bright, bold letters.
"I gotta piss!" Grimmjow growled back and he practically leapt over the back of the couch to get to the bathroom. Renji watched as the bluenette bolted into the room and then, just as the door was slammed shut, the door across from it opened, revealing a disgruntled orange-head.
"Hiya, sleepyhead." Renji called with a huge grin, instantly catching Shirosaki's attention and making the albino turn around to peer over the couch. If he had a tail to wag then he'd look exactly like an eager puppy as he watched Ichigo walk closer.
Ichigo was clad in one of Renji's large shirts and a pair of his loose fitting pants. Shirosaki couldn't help but eye the bare shoulder that peeked out the top of the shirt.
"Do you guys have any idea how loud you are?" The dandelion mumbled while gently rubbing his hands over his bruised face.
"Sorry 'bout that… I invited a friend ova, and we get kinda loud."
"Yeah… I noticed." Ichigo scoffed with a slight smirk. He walked over to the back of the couch until he was looking down at Shirosaki. Tired auburn and playful golden eyes met with this unusually tense look. "So who's this friend that can probably out shout both you and Ren?"
Renji sniffed at that and grinned before answering, "His name's Grimmjow." Shirosaki raised a brow curiously when he saw Ichigo's back stiffen and his eyes go wide, as if he'd just heard a whip crack right beside him.
Ichigo flinched and winced when the bathroom door opened followed by the sound of a light being switched off and then the unmistakable thud of footsteps.
Renji shifted in his seat to look past his brother's frozen form. Grimmjow was too busy adjusting his pants to notice Ichigo at first, but when he finally looked up, his gaze quickly fell on that familiar head of tangerine hair. His blue eyes widened and filled with recognition before narrowing anxiously.
Shiro and Renji noticed the look, but they both remained quiet, curious to what was going to happen next.
"Ichi…"
Ichigo flinched at that oh-so familiar voice and then slowly spun around, hoping, praying, that it wasn't him. But as soon as his eyes met the other's unmistakably blue ones, he bolted to the right. Grimmjow had been expecting the man to flee, so he was able to grab hold of Ichigo's arm just before he disappeared back into Shirosaki's room.
"Let me go, asshole!" Ichigo snarled as he tried to snatch his arm back, but the man's grip was firm.
"Ichi, liste—" Grimmjow stopped and wheezed in a breath as pain lanced through his body.
Ichigo had just kicked him.
Hard.
His grip unconsciously lessened as his attention went from the enraged tangerine to his crushed stomach. Ichigo took this as his opportunity to slip into the room and slam the door shut.
Grimmjow coughed as he tried to swallow the bile sticking to his throat. He gripped the couch with one hand so he wouldn't fall.
The brat had one helluva kick.
Shirosaki and Renji had jumped to their feet when Ichigo ran, but they stayed silent through the whole exchange. Renji's brows furrowed in confusion and his eyes kept flicking back and forth between the door and Grimmjow's hunched form. Shiro, on the other hand, was blank-faced. His pale arms were crossed over his bare chest, and his eyes were narrowed, but, other than that, he looked impassive—almost as if he knew exactly what was going on.
Grimmjow didn't seem to notice, his attention was fixed solely on the door. He walked forward until he was right before the barrier that Ichigo was hiding behind.
"Ichigo… I—"
"Go away!"
Grimmjow winced and shifted on his feet nervously, making Shiro raise one white brow.
"Listen! I'm really, really sorry 'bout what happened, okay? I never meant ta—"
"I said 'go away'!" Ichigo screeched through the thick wood.
"Dammit, Ichigo!" Grimmjow shouted as he slammed his hand against the door, "Can't we talk about this!?"
During the argument, Renji had made his way forward, inch by inch, until he was standing right behind the bluenette.
"How do you two know each other?" He demanded, catching Grimmjow's attention for a second. Blue eyes flickered towards him and back at the door. He stayed quiet for a while, making silence coat the room like a light mist, ready to be blown away by the slightest storm.
Grimmjow finally let out a frustrated sigh as he looked down. "That 'aint for me to tell…" He said, loud enough for Ichigo to hear. Renji shifted his head and narrowed his eyes suspiciously at that.
"Ichigo." He growled out in a way that said if he didn't get an answer then something bad was going to happen.
"…"
"You'd bett—"
"Alright! Fine!" Ichigo snapped and they could hear him shifting around inside. "But I'm not coming out." He grumbled. No one said a thing as they waited for him to continue speaking. "Uhm… Renji?"
"Yeah?" The redhead immediately replied.
"Do me a favor. Don't get mad, and don't hit anyone… okay?"
Renji glared towards Grimmjow, but the man refused to meet his eyes.
"Okay… But you'd better start explaining."
Ichigo bit his bottom lip nervously and rested his forehead against the door as he thought about the best way to tell his brother. He supposed he should probably just blurt it out.
"… Grimmjow's my… He's my boyfriend." Renji's eyes widened in surprise but then they looked down at the floor, confusion flooding their depths. "We've been going out for about ten months now."
"That's when you stopped coming over…"
"Yeah… I wanted to keep it a secret, 'cause I knew you guys would hound him and probably scare him away like my last boyfriend… And then Grimmjow and I moved in together like a month after we started going out, so I was too caught up in everything to remember to come visit… I'm sorry."
Renji shook his head and sighed, sort of understanding. Ichi's last boyfriend—some guy named chad—didn't last very long. He was a good guy and all, but he just couldn't handle the constant interrogations from Renji and both their dads.
Renji was about to agree when the image of Ichigo's bruised body flashed before his eyes. His face twisted in rage and he snarled at Grimmjow.
"Were you the one who hurt Ichigo?"
Grimmjow's eyes remained glued to the door as he winced, a look of guilt crossing his face. He remained silent as Renji grabbed hold of his shirt and then slammed him against the wall.
"I'll ask you one more time… Did you lay your hands on my little brother?" Renji spat, his teeth bared in a vicious sneer.
"You're his brother?"
The redhead ignored Grimmjow's sudden realization in favor of slamming him against the wall again. He wanted answers and he was not going to repeat himself again.
Grimmjow's expression went blank and he refused to say anything, but the silence was enough to tell Renji exactly what he did.
"You son of a bitch!"
Grimmjow closed his eyes and tensed when he saw the clenched knuckles coming towards him. But when it never made contact, he peeked open his eyes to see that Renji's fist was only a breadth away from breaking his nose—the only thing holding him back were the pale fingers wrapped around his wrist.
"Remember what you promised Ichigo…" Shirosaki whispered to Renji, making the man slowly unclench. Grimmjow was about to sigh in relief, but his breath caught in his throat and his eyes widened when something smashed right against his jaw. The force of the blow had him crumpling to the floor.
He snapped his head up to glare at Shirosaki and was surprised to see his friend looking so fucking pissed. He never would've expected Shiro to hit him like that. Sure they've scuffled plenty of times, so Grimmjow knew about Shiro's ungodly strength, but he never would've thought that the albino would deck him in the face with such a serious expression.
"I, on the other hand, made no such promise… So prepare yourself, Grimm."
Said man grimaced slightly when the usual smirk didn't accompany the nickname.
He really was serious.
"Nah…" Grimmjow sighed as he stood up. He raised his chin and crossed his arms over his chest before continuing, "I deserved tha'…"
Shirosaki scoffed and Renji shifted in his spot angrily.
"From the bruises I saw on Ichigo, you deserve a lot more!"
Grimmjow looked down at the floor and clicked his tongue in frustration. He then looked towards the door. He walked forward to knock on it while completely ignoring the other two.
"Ichigo. Please come on out… We really need ta talk. I didn't even remember wha' I did 'til I saw you this morning… I swear I'll never drink again if that's what ends up happening. I never meant to hurt you."
Shirosaki's fists immediately lowered at hearing the word 'please'. He'd never heard the man say that. Ever. Let alone say something like this. He raised a brow and looked towards Renji when Grimmjow kept knocking.
Ichigo wasn't answering.
Grimmjow growled after a while and his patience finally snapped when Shiro went to also knock on the door. He snarled and grabbed hold of the doorknob as he shoved his shoulder against the wood. He was expecting it to be locked, so when it easily opened, he accidentally stumbled inside, nearly falling on his face. Shirosaki and Renji moved forward quickly to stand beside Grimmjow. The room was completely empty. There was no sign of Ichigo.
TBC